Curb Your Excuses

Spring is supposed to be the best time to sell a house, right? Well, maybe mine is just unsaleable, because it’s officially been on the market for the entirety of spring and still hasn’t sold. To be fair, it hasn’t been a particularly springy spring – I mean, we’re now two days into summer and I’m sporting my winter coat and thick woollen socks. But still, the daffodils bulbs I planted for curbside appeal have been and gone; spring, such as it is, definitely happened.

I’m not sure what the problem is, but I’m told it’s some kind of local market slump. It’s a hot topic with my real estate agent, once she’s done waxing lyrical on the finer points of conveyancing. For properties near Sandringham, my agent says, it’s a matter of playing the waiting game, and I should be prepared to set my sights on an autumn sale. Summer, she reckons, is not the best time for getting bites from buyers. That makes sense to me. Between frenetic December, the come-down of January and the back-to-work vibes of February, dropping a bomb on one’s savings is not exactly the most appealing proposition. 

By autumn, people are starting to get into the swing of the year, and notions of setting up house in a cosy, homely new pad might seem more appealing. A crackling fire would be just the ticket to push an unsure buyer over the edge, and autumn is the perfect time of year for that. It would just be a matter of ensuring the leaves are managed for just the right balance of autumnal charm and appearing neat and manageable.

All that notwithstanding, I’d really love to get this over and done with. There’s just so much to think about, all the time – from what the conveyancing lawyers are doing with my money to a seasonal garden optimisation, it’s an endless dance of staying on top of my finances. Selling a house isn’t cheap, you know – there’s no way I’d spend as much of my income on gardening services as I do if I weren’t trying to sell.